Do you have too many (or too few) clothes? + Me Made May VICTORY and wrapup

So somehow I did it—wore at least one me-made every day of May 2014, and got some kind of documentary photo to prove it, even if was just a low-quality bathroom mirror Instagram selfie.

Not only that, but it was really a "Me-Making May" (to use Susan's term). I completed EIGHT garments for myself during the month, and FOUR for children (which is a definite record for me—I didn't even have time to blog them all!): two dresses, five tops, three skirts, a sweater and a jacket. Um, that's my average sewing output for an entire year.

So I'm a little TIRED and taking a little break from sewing for a week or so to recover, but I'm making great knitting progress on my Hetty cardigan. It looks tiny BUT it's lace and all scrunched up, AND my gauge swatch grew quite a bit when I blocked it, so I'm not going to worry (yet):

Anyway, I was trying to think what I learned from Me Made May this year, and here are my random thoughts:

• I have too many clothes. That is, too many clothes I never wear, and don't necessarily like. When putting together outfits for Me-Made-May I found myself wearing (or trying to wear) some me-mades and old ready-to-wear or thrifted pieces that I hadn't worn since LAST Me Made May... and that I think I just need to ditch. I brought quite a few bags to the clothes recycling at the farmer's market this month, though I hate to just get rid of me mades that way (maybe I'll give them away here?)
• I have too few clothes. That is, too few clothes in certain basic categories that I rely on a lot: basic denim and solid-colored skirts, solid-color tops, jeans, knit camisoles. This is partly because I stopped buying most fast fashion two years ago after reading Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion... and I haven't really been focused enough in my sewing or thrift shopping to fill those basic areas.
• I dress very differently when I'm going to be showing photos of myself on the internet. I wear heels and makeup slightly more often, and more dresses and skirts than usual. I swear I wore jeans for more than 50% of days in April, but since I don't have any me-made trousers I actually like, I only wore jeans or trousers four times the entire month of May.
• I have/make too many polka-dot things. I know, this blog is called Polka Dot Overload. But I also love all kinds of other prints—bold florals and geometrics, stripes, chevrons. I need more of a mix here, I'm starting to bore myself.

How about you? What do you have too much or too little of?

Anyway, here is the last week of Me-Made-May... on to June!

Me Made May 25: Polka Dot Twins

The little girl and I wore polka dots (yeah, I know) for my grandmother's 92nd birthday party. Mine is the third wear of my McCall's 6070 for the month. I think I need to make more of this pattern, as I'm obviously very into it.

Me Made May 26: Me Made Everything

I'm relaxing on my mom's porch in one of my Cake Hummingbird tops and a self-drafted knit half circle skirt. Z is wearing her new wax print Made By Rae Baby Sunsuit as top and Oliver + S Lazy Days skirt. Yes I have pale legs.

Me Made May 27: Stripes and bows

My Tilly and the Buttons Miette skirt (blogged here) and Burdastyle Magazine Feb. 2010 top (never blogged). Plus old RTW cardigan for the summer-like heat.

Me Made May 28: Finally hemmed!

Finally got my act together nd started hemming the five unhemmed me-made dresses and skirts that had been piling up (I was wearing them, but unhemmed). The dress is vintage Simplicity 7575 (blogged here before hemming) and the jacket is out-of-print McCall's 5529, just finished last week (blogged here).

Me Made May 29: Dots and Denim

Jalie 2005 T-shirt and Cake Hummingbird denim skirt.

Me Made May 30: My Stash of Fabrics for Theme Friday

My six main drawers of fabric, patterns and yarn are behind me (though I will admit I have fabric squirreled away in a few other places in the apartment). Wearing my (finally hemmed) Cake Patterns Red Velvet knit dress. I think this is my favorite photo for the whole month.

Me Made May 31: I Need a Nap

The me-mades here are the simple knit half-circle skirt and some hidden underthings. PHEW.

So what are your wardrobe challenges?

Help Me Conquer My Fear of Hemming? (+ Me Made May Week 4)

Readers, I have finally decided to face down my Chronic Hemming Avoidance. A commenter on PatternReview had the following to say about the 1970s dress I entered in the Vintage Contest:

Nice dress. Please do hem it though. Raw hem on a knit is a dead give-away for a cheaply made modern dress. No one in the 1970's (or even the '80's or 90's) would have done that. It's one of my pet peeves about mass market rtw, especially stuff targeted to kids and teens.

And really, she is right. I don't mind a raw hem now and then, but I am starting to be embarrassed that it is my default hem "treatment" for knit fabrics.

My Unfinished Object pile may finally be gone, but my Unhemmed Dress and Skirt Pile of Doom is really starting to get out of control. As of yesterday, I had five fullish-skirted dresses or skirts that I've just been wearing out and about in the raw — not because I want to, but just because I'm SCARED. I've been telling myself I will hem them SOMEDAY but considering that one of them is three years old I don't think "someday" is just going to happen on its own.

In fact, I have a long history of Chronic Hemming Avoidance—just look at the first two knit fabric projects I posted on PatternReview back in 2005 (before I owned a tripod):

So why I am so terrified of hemming full knit skirts that I would rather just walk around in public unhemmed?

1. I don't know how to properly level a skirt. The whole idea of a letting a skirt settle and then somehow magically LEVELING an uneven hem freaks me out to no end. Also—my husband does NOT feel comfortable getting down on the floor with a box of pins to try and help.
2. My cheap old "My Double" dress form is crooked, and using it for hem leveling might make my dresses crooked.
3. I am really impatient. Wovens HAVE to be hemmed, but since knits won't TOTALLY unravel and fall apart before I can throw them on and enjoy them, it feels almost optional.
4. Hemming full skirts properly takes me EONS. SO MANY PINS and SO MUCH PRESSING.
5. I am afraid I will hem a skirt WRONG and too SHORT and then it will be TOO LATE and everything will be ruined. RUINED!
6. I am afraid I will use up my last few yards of Steam-a-Seam Lite 2 1/2" fusible web tape and it is currently out of production.

So my goal before the close of Me Made May is to finish what I started and get hemming. I got a head start at last month's sewing club when Cindy brought her hemming level and pinned two of my dresses, but I need a more sustainable solution so I'm not walking around unhemmed for several weeks at a time.

Last night I tinkered around with my recalcitrant "My Double" dress form and I seem to have fixed her hemming level and weird tilt, but when I tried to use her I didn't feel like I trusted that the 1970s dress was sitting properly level so I got scared and just made an even 1/2" hem all around with fusible webbing tape. Ah well. I did feel a bit more put together.

Do you have any favorite tricks or tutorials for getting a proper level hem in full skirts—especially knit ones? Or are you in the "hemming knits is TOTALLY OPTIONAL" camp?

And... oh yeah, Me Made May! Here's week 4... almost there!

Me Made May 18: Nettie Goes to Legoland

Surprised husband and daughter with a trip to Legoland for husband's birthday—we all had a blast, even if the two hours each way on various forms of public transport was a bit challenging (subway ride to train ride to LONG suburban bus ride). Wore my hot off the sewing machine Closet Case Patterns Nettie Bodysuit as top.

Me Made May 19: Back of the Me-Made Drawer

Here are two of the last me-mades that sorta fit that I haven't worn yet for Me Made May--both from pre-blog days. The skirt is Simplicity 5914, and it's nearly 10 years old. It was too big then but is now slightly tight in the waist and a bit uncomfortable to wear. The top is from the Feb. 2010 issue of Burdastyle magazine and has a badly botched neck binding.

Me Made May 20: Running on Repeat

McCall's 6070 ombre dress (still unhemmed) and Georgina cardigan by Alexis Winslow again.

Me Made May 21: These Me-Mades Are Hidden and My Photos Are Lazy

Wearing a not-yet-blogged me-made T-shirt and me-made underthings.

Me Made May 22: Still Unhemmed

Work bathroom selfie because I had an early morning meeting - Cake Patterns Red Velvet dress again. Not yet hemmed.

Me Made May 23: Polka Dot Parade for Theme Friday

Ms. Z did NOT want me taking any photos this morning—she ordered me to lie on the couch and snuggle instead. So this was the best I could get. Wearing one of my Cake Patterns Hummingbird peplum tops and a self-drafted comfy knit half-circle skirt.

Me Made May 24: Unblogged and Unhemmed

Not yet blogged (or hemmed): Jalie 2681 gored knit skirt (trumpet skirt view E) in size V, with shorter length R. And striped elastic waistband. Fabric is a jegging faux denim knit from Mood. Top is Nettie by Closet Case files in Riley Blake polka dot knit, blogged here.

So... are you a knit-hemming stickler? Or do you just not care? Tips on getting nice level hems without a helper greatly welcome!

Is your Unfinished Object (UFO) pile getting you down? + Me Made May Week 3

I am regularly subject to fits of Unfinished Object Overload. Back in my early blogging days, I even drew a cartoon of how overwhelmed my many half-finished projects were making me feel:

I have a tendency to start garments I am very excited about at the time, but then I run into a slight challenge—a fitting problem or a serger malfunction or just my own tendency to sew so late at night that I start attaching the pieces together backwards... And I throw the item in my "in progress" bag and it never sees the light of day again while I start making something else new and shiny.

Until this Me Made May. Because in the last few weeks I have finished three former UFOs, and am almost done with the fourth—and last, I think. I defined UFOs as sewing projects that had been cut out in fashion fabric more than four months ago, and knitting projects that I had started more than four months ago. Here was some of the pile earlier this month:

I've now finished the Cake Patterns Red Velvet Dress (see finished object post), my chevroned Cake Patterns Hummingbird Blue peplum top with swiss dot dickey and cuffs (see finished object post) and my Delancey cardigan by Alexis Winslow.

I think the Delancey (finished object post here) felt like the biggest win simply because I had been knitting it (with a six month break) since LAST May. And also it is awesome:

I also just decided to toss a few objects and definitely decide NOT to finish them (like my blue silk bias half-slip that I hadn't really cut out properly or the bras I had started making in a size I no longer am). It felt equally freeing to just admit it was NOT going to happen.

I haven't quite gotten there with this McCall's 5529 doubleknit peplum jacket, though—it really isn't fitting right (even the sleeves are baggy... probably because this pattern is supposedly for knits AND wovens) but I'm just going to plow ahead and hope a belt will make it wearable:

The UFO bag is almost EMPTY. And wow is it a good feeling! It was also fun to get to start these projects at the sewing stage, instead of the cutting out and alterations stage.

And Me Made May? Here we go for week 3:

Me Made May 11: Mother's Day at the Met Costume Institute

For Mother's Day my husband took us to the AMAZING Charles James Beyond Fashion exhibit at the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. No photos allowed, so here are my daughter and I in front of Perneb's Tomb.

Top: Partially finished Cake Patterns Hummingbird Blue before I attached the cuffs and dickey (blogged here).
Skirt: Hummingbird straight skirt (blogged here).
Necklace: Gift from sister-in-law
Shoes: Ahnu Karma flats because I wear the same comfortable shoes over and over again.

Me Made May 12: Teal Takeover Day for Food Allergy Awareness Week

As anyone who reads my sewing blog (or even more so my food allergy/ recipe blog Safe & Scrumptious from Scratch) knows, my three-year-old daughter Z has severe multiple food allergies.

She's allergic to sesame, nuts, peanuts, milk, eggs, mustard, cumin, poppy, canola and peas. So we don't eat in restaurants or buy much processed food, and we ALWAYS carry two EpiPen auto-injectors with us and make sure she wears her allergy alert bracelet.

Today was day two of Food Allergy Awareness Week, and today's action was #tealtakeover — since teal is the official color of Food Allergy Awareness. There are 15 million Americans with food allergy—and many, like my daughter, at at risk of life-threatening anaphylaxis. Please think about the food allergic people in your life—and what you can do to make them feel welcome and safe! Learn more at www.foodallergy.org/.

Dress: Me-made McCall's 6070 ombre polka dot dress.
Cardigan: had forever.
Necklace: Old and cheap
Shoes: Another pair of Ahnu Karma flats, in a green vegan mesh version.
On Z: A she-made starfish headband and me-made wax print Oliver + S dress (technically the "Ice Cream Dress" but she's allergic to dairy, so we call it the "Coconut Cream Dress").

Me Made May 13: The finally finished peplum top

The no longer un-finished UFO.

Top: Fully finished Cake Patterns Hummingbird Blue (blogged here).
Jeans: Not Your Daughter's Jeans naturalish-waisted straight legs (bought at 6pm.com for less than 50% retail). They're supposed to be natural waisted but they hit me a few inches below that.

Me Made May 14: The Tearful Trousers

Oh, these Vogue Elements 9745 wide-legged trousers just make me want to cry. When I first made them I was super into them—they are a beautiful shade of blue, they are corduroy, they are my first pair of successful non-pajama me-made trousers and they fit and they are SO COMFORTABLE (partly due to the hidden elastic waistband).

Yet I haven't worn them since Me Made May 2013. Mainly because my husband who usually loves everything I make hates them and says "they aren't very... flattering." I like wide legs in theory but I think I will stick with more fitted styles... they seem to work better on me.

My daughter is wearing her Tomten Jacket I knit for her a few years ago—she's finally growing into it.

Me Made May 15: My most-worn items

These two items (along with the Georgina cardigan I ended up throwing on to beat the spring chill) are my most-frequently-worn me-mades for sure—I always feel comfy and happy in them. I rarely wear them together but decided to give it a go and I THINK it works, no?

Hummingbird peplum knit top in a hummingbird-colored rayon jersey that needed some VERY careful pattern placement (blogged here) and a self-drafted knit half circle skirt with simple no-elastic waistband (free tutorial here).

Me Made May 16: Too Pretty to Wear Pants

This Friday's theme for the Me Made May challenge was "Too Pretty to Wear Pants" but since I wasn't exactly sure what that meant, I took it to mean: wear a skirt or a dress, maybe something a little extra girly? The me-made here is a trusty Jalie Scarf Collar knit top (blogged here).

Me Made May 17: There are six me-mades in this picture

Most of my photos so far have contained just one or two me made items... But there are five me mades in this collage if you count my daughter's sweater and some hidden underthings. And six if you count my daughter herself!

Phew!

So tell me—how many UFOs are in your pile? And how do they make you feel?

*Disclosure: Actions you take from the hyperlinks on this site may yield commissions for polkadotoverload.com (quite likely to be spent on yarn or fabric).

How do you remove barriers to sewing? + Me Made May Week 2

I'm no longer going to blame my daughter's night owl tendencies for keeping me from sewing

Sometimes barriers to sewing are real—and sometimes, they are just mental blocks and lack of inspiration. I actually recovered from carpal tunnel more than three months ago—yet I didn't start sewing again til my recent vacation in Texas when Susan pretty much ordered me to do so.

When I got back to New York and opened up my sewing table, the mojo was back and all my barriers to sewing suddenly seemed flimsy and easy to demolish:

1. BARRIER:"My daughter stays up talking to herself and her dolls til midnight almost every night—and I can't disturb her with the sound of the sewing machine in our small apartment." FIX: Move the sewing machine into my bedroom where she can't hear it.
2. BARRIER: "I don't get to spend enough time with my husband in the evenings, and he likes to watch shows together sometimes." FIX: Pay vague attention to shows while sewing in bedroom, and stop worrying if I've lost track of characters, plots, or anything else.
3. BARRIER: "I need to make elaborate allergy-free meals totally from scratch and stay up every evening making pickles or sourdough bread or homemade pasta." FIX: My husband likes to cook too. And we can eat more quick, simple (and still allergy-free meals) and cook more in batches.
4. BARRIER: "Oh UGH, the worst part of sewing is all that FITTING and MUSLINING and SEAM FINISHING and HEMMING and how the heck do I have TIME for all that when I just want to WEAR something AWESOME?" FIX: forget muslins or elaborate fitted woven garments for now and just make TNT patterns, knit pieces and easy-fit skirts.

So what are your barriers to sewing (or blogging) and how might YOU remove them?

Cation Designs recently posted that she decided to remove one of her barriers: feeling like she needed to do an elaborate fancy dress-up photo shoot before she could blog something she had made.

Mary at Young, Broke and Fabulous recently ran into a nasty money barrier when her sewing machine died—and she did a cool little fundraiser where she offered to sew items (from bags to dresses) for supporters in exchange for helping her raise the cash to buy a used floor model sewing machine.

Susan at Moon Thirty has resolved to make her Me Made May a "Me Making May" where she sews something for her everyday wardrobe for at least 5 minutes a day, and she's already got a beautiful (and not-yet-hemmed-or-blogged Colette Moneta knit dress to show for it.

If you don't want to sew and have other things going on—that's cool. But if you really LOVE to sew and WANT to sew but have some arbitrary rules in your head that you can't sew unless your house is spotless (#sewdontclean, people) or until you buy that new pattern or fabric you can't afford right now (time for a stash dive!), or until you have some certain notion or supply or type of interfacing, or until you have a full day set aside, or until your toddler deigns to take a nap she probably won't EVER actually take, or until you have better lighting for your blog photos... maybe it's time to start taking it easier on yourself and just sew up a three-seam knit skirt, snap a cellphone selfie in your bathroom mirror and let all that mental baggage go.

And with that—on to Me Made May!

Before I start with May 4, I realize I forgot to show what I actually wore outside on May 3. I realized that I was wearing an orange zip-up sweater and an orange purse... with orange top-stitching on my shoes to boot. Orange is my happy color. (Yes, that's my daughter's hand at right).

OK then:

Me Made May 4: Off to Sewing Club!

Skirt: Tilly and the Buttons Miette wrap skirt, me-made - blogged here
Necklace: Turquoise paper bead necklace made by my amazing mother-in-law Gail
Shoes: Ahnu Karma flats (that won my comfy flat shoe showdown last year and are the BEST and comfiest shoes EVER... I just bought a second pair in green.)

Me Made May 5: Red and White Polka Dots

Three me-mades today in one outfit:
Sweater: Georgina cardigan (blogged here)
Top: Jalie scarf-collar knit top (blogged here)
Socks: Monkey socks (Raveled here).
Plus... Jeans: NYDJ straight legs (bought at 6pm.com for less than 50% retail)
Shoes: Tsubo Aftenia fashion sneakers (ignore the bad reviews, they are AWESOME)

Me Made May 6: A New Knit Dress from a 1970s Vintage Pattern

Dress: Simplicity 7575 from 1976, me-made (blogged here)
Shoes: Miz Mooz Avery (similar vibe)
Necklace: Gift from sister-in-law quite a few years ago

Me Made May 7: Polka Dot Work Casual

Skirt: Self-drafted no-elastic knit half circle skirt (I made a little tutorial here—it's super simple!
Top: thrifted
Bag: vintage
Shoes: Ahnu Karma flats again.

Me Made May 8: Delancey Cardigan Joy

Sweater: Delancey Cardigan by Alexis Winslow, me-made (pattern is here and my Ravelry page with prettier photo shoot is here... blog post coming soon). My second unfinished object completed for Me-Made May!
Socks: Waving Lace ombre socks, me-made and me-hand-dyed (blogged here)
Top: old RTW back when I still bought fast fashion
Necklace: borrowed permanently from my mom
Jeans: NYDJ straight legs (bought at 6pm.com for less than 50% retail)
Shoes: Ahnu Karma flats again.

Me Made May 9: Two Blue Refashions for Theme Friday

Sweater: Me-Made Blue Flutter Sleeve cardigan (originally blogged here and more recently refashioned here)
Socks: Me-made bright blue TARDIS socks (they are REALLY bright blue and I added elastic thread to keep them up).
I barely wear this sweater because the sleeves look kinda weird even after the refashion. Hence the belt! I'm kind of tempted just to give it away so I can't feel bad about it anymore.
You've already seen the shoes and necklace.
Tights: Spanx reversible black/brown tights... still going strong after four years without a single run!

Me Made May 10: Hummingbird weekend wear

Top: Cake Patterns Hummingbird peplum knit top (blogged here)
Skirt: Hummingbird straight skirt (blogged here).
(With my polka dot loving daughter in a hand-me-down dress).

So tell me—what are your sewing/blogging barriers and how do you knock them down?

*Disclosure: Actions you take from the hyperlinks on this site may yield commissions for polkadotoverload.com (quite likely to be spent on yarn or fabric).

Why are we supposed to hate our bellies? + Me Made May Week 1 roundup

Not pulling a shirt down to hide my belly for Me-Made May!

About six months after I had my daughter in 2010, I was shopping with a friend for some new clothes to fit my post-baby shape. I was feeling pretty awesome about having my waist back and rocking some more hourglass-style looks... until a salesman congratulated me on my pregnancy.

"I'm not pregnant," I told him. "I had my baby six months ago!" I was hurt and offended and he was apologetic—but why? Why was having a belly instantly lovely and wonderful the second I was publicly, officially, happily pregnant... but totally unacceptable the second I was not? (Also why do "old weird secrets for a flat belly trick" ads chase us around the internet?)

One of the reasons I love Me Made May is that it's an excuse to feel fancy and to think a little more about what I put on. And to dress every day the way I WISHED I actually dressed every day of the year. And to practice a little self-appreciation and feel good about my style and my body.

But as I go through and edit the photos I've snapped to find my favorites, I find myself wondering: why are women supposed to hate our bellies? Why do I find myself choosing what is "most flattering" by whether or not my belly might look as squishy as it actually is?

When I was pregnant, I remember feeling this huge sense of relief — a break from any body image anxieties that might have plagued me for the past 30 years. No sucking it in, no control garments under clingier dresses, no avoiding lots of front gathers or staying away from knit pencil skirts.

I've worked very hard to love my shape and not talk myself down (especially in front of my little girl—who is thankfully incredibly self-confident and pleased with her beautiful young self!) but why SHOULD that have to be such hard work? Why should I have to go look at photos of Christina Hendricks in her Joan outfits from Mad Men to calm down my nasty inner critic?

Your thoughts appreciated.

So my sub-resolution for Me-Made-May is to smile for my selfies, stop picking apart my appearance and stop taking SO many photos for each day, even if I don't LOVE how I look in each picture. And here we go:

Me Made May 1: Candy-Striped Tiramisu

Dress: Cake Patterns Tiramisu, me-made - blogged last summer
Necklace: red coral from a booth at Renegade Craft fair ages ago
Shoes: Tsubo Aftenia fashion sneakers (ignore the bad reviews, they are AWESOME)

Me Made May 2: The "Sewing Through the UFO Pile" Dress

Dress: Cake Patterns Red Velvet Knit Dress, me-made - blogged last summer
Necklace: 1928 Jewelry vintage inspired pen necklace
Bag: Vintage
Shoes: Camper Kim black Mary Janes (similar)

Me Made May 3: Stripes and Denim (with Photobomber)

Top: old ready-to-wear from fast fashion place I now avoid. Want to draft a copy though!
Skirt: Cake Patterns Hummingbird, me-made - blogged here
Necklace: made by a friend
Shoes (see top of blog post): Ahnu Karma flats (that won my comfy flat shoe showdown last year and are the BEST and comfiest shoes EVER)

Happy Me-Made May, everyone. LOVING looking through the Flickr group to see what you all are coming up with—so inspiring!

P.S. Edited later—I almost forgot to include this political cartoon I drew ages ago about this very topic when I read about plastic surgeons offering post-delivery "Mommy job" packages... "Your Yucky Body: Mommy Makeover Edition":

Love Letter to a $4 Vintage Peplum Dress

Dear $4 vintage dress,

We've been through a lot together in the past 12 years and you've always stuck by me. I remember the first time I saw you squeezed on the back of a rack in Cambridge's Garment District thrift store. I was running my hands across the rack looking for something bright and pink or orange, but your soft velvet burnout caught my attention.

And then there was your neat little 80s-does-40s peplum, and your adorable little front bow. And you know I can't resist a sweetheart neckline...

You were the perfect combination of structure and comfort, with your boned front bodice and your super-stretchy elastic shirred back. Really, you're everything I could want in a dress:

Thanks to that shirred back, you've survived many a closet purge over the years. My weight has gone up and down, but you almost ALWAYS fit.

You make me feel glamorous and put together and thrifty all at once. You've accompanied me to many a dance over the years, and even a Zombie Purim party (sorry about the fake blood, but it washed out):

Plus, even though I got you second-hand you were originally union made in the USA (thanks International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union!)

Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for coming with me to my college reunion last weekend. It was my 33rd birthday and I was grumpy about spending it back at Harvard and I barely saw anyone I knew (that's what I get for taking a semester off and graduating with the class behind me!) and I soon realized why velvet dresses aren't generally worn on 90-degree summer days ... but I had so much fun getting dressed up and dancing with my husband in his rented tuxedo.

Love and kisses,
Mikhaela

P.S. You are so hard to photograph, dear dress—but that's the black velvet I suppose. Here you are in an overexposed shot for more clarity:

--Black velvet strapless sweetheart peplum dress, vintage--
--Fake pearl necklace my mom and I both wore to our weddings--
--Vaneli silver leather strappy sandals, bought for my wedding in 2007 (similar here)--
--Pleated silvery gray clutch, now covered in cranberry juice stains thanks to a drunken reunion attendee (similarish)--

**Disclosure: Actions you take from the ready-to-wear hyperlinks within this blog post may yield commissions for polkadotoverload.com (and quite likely spent on yarn or fabric).